'There was a smell of old dust,' said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery.

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I love that they describe him as having "made the discovery," like it was a hidden tomb deep below the earth's surface. This was in Paris, it's hard to imagine how it went untouched for so long. As there's turnover in the neighborhood you would think someone would either be too curious to leave things be or greedy enough to make a move for the property. It's also hard to believe that she never once returned or tried to sell the property since she obviously wasn't using it.